Complete coverage of the Angels minor leagues

Notes from Tempe, Day 4

Kaleb Cowart, the Angels’ first pick in the June 2010 draft, legs out a double in today’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

It may have been the most pressure-packed at-bat of Taylor Lindsey’s young career, but you’ll never find it in a box score.

Taylor was part of a group taking batting practice this morning at Tempe Diablo. Tom Gregorio, the roving catching instructor, was throwing BP. Tom told Taylor that if he hit a home run, he could have an extra round of hitting.

Taylor pulled a pitch down the right-field line, where it cleared the fence at 367 feet just fair of the foul pole.

And he got his extra at-bat.

With a road game at the Chicago Cubs’ complex in Mesa, and only three games left on the instructional league schedule, there’s a sense the end is near. Some players will remain in Phoenix during the winter, while the rest will scatter about the globe. Latin players will return to the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, where they may play winter ball and make some more money.

The Cubs’ parent club plays at Hohokam Stadium up the road, but the minor league complex is at Fitch Park. The Cubs have threatened to leave town if they don’t get a new stadium and complex, so the City of Mesa has Proposition 420 on the ballot. The supporters have the KeepTheCubs.com web site, while opponents have the VoteNo420.com web site.

The Fitch Park field is “intimate.” I doubt it’s more than 20 feet from home plate to the backstop. There’s very little foul territory. It’s 350 feet down the foul lines, and 400 feet to center. That might seem rather ample, but in Phoenix the ball travels far due to the heat and low humidity. At Tempe Diablo’s minor league field, it’s 367 feet down the lines and 420 feet to center.

La Tempa was followed by Orangel Arenas, Tyler Kehrer and Johnny Hellweg.

Rules in the instructional league are informal, so many teams employ ten-man lineups with two designated hitters. All four teams we’ve faced while I’ve been here have used 10-man lineups, but the Angels have gone with the conventional nine-man lineup.

The Angels did take a little dramatic license in today’s game. P.J. Phillips, who missed 2010 due to shoulder surgery, was in the lineup as designated hitter. When P.J. reached base, he was replaced by a designated runner, but remained the DH throughout the game.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.